


lightning's master

by potsticker1234



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: 5 years after atla, Firelord Zuko (Avatar), Happy Azula (Avatar), Post-Canon, Sifu Azula, bending combat, in which I want azula and everyone around her to be happy post canon, mentioned Tyzula, mentioned kataang, we're going to pretend that somehow zuko learned lightning after becoming firelord
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:14:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27774358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/potsticker1234/pseuds/potsticker1234
Summary: Aang approaches Azula with the most preposterous request: he wants her to teach him how to lightning bend.(Azula promises Zuko that she won't shoot Aang full of lightning... again.)
Kudos: 35





	lightning's master

“Azula, I want you to teach me lightning bending.”

The words almost made Azula choke on the tea she was drinking, “Excuse me?”

Aang sat down in front of her and tried again, “I want to learn how to create lightning.”

With the momentary shock gone, she eyed him carefully, “And you’re coming to me of all people?” she lowered her gaze as if to stare through his chest towards the small of his back.

A phantom ache shot up from the point she was referencing and he rubbed his temple, “Zuko’s too busy with all his Firelord stuff and your Uncle wouldn’t even want me learning it anyways.”

Azula took another sip of her tea and let the liquid swirl in her mouth before answering, “He’s got a point, afterall, lightning is a shoot-to-kill sort of maneuver. And considering the fact that my father is in prison and not burnt to a crisp, well, Avatar, I’m not sure you have it in you.”

“I’ll bring Katara in case anything goes wrong,” his eyes grew wide and he donned his best ‘innocent and harmless’ face he could muster. 

When it seemed like playing nice was getting him nowhere, he stood up from his seat and cleared his throat, “If you don’t think you can do it, that’s fine, I’ll just ask Zuko afterall.” His lips upturned in a smirk.

“That won’t be necessary,” Azula placed the tea cup on the table a bit too harshly, “We start tomorrow at dawn in the courtyard.” She stood to meet his level, “Don’t be late.”

He watched as the Princess strode away from him and once she was out of earshot he jumped up in the air and spun in excitement, he knew that nothing could motivate Azula like suggesting she was less capable than her brother.

Turns out that maybe asking the girl who had shot him full of lightning at one moment in time to teach him the technique wasn’t such a good idea. She was a brutal teacher and gave him no special treatment despite his status as Avatar. 

The day started off with a scolding from his new teacher when he showed up a few minutes past dawn. She was already in the courtyard before the sun had even risen over the edge of the Caldera, typical Azula, punctual as always. She was dressed in loose fitting red training clothes and Aang felt self conscious about the monk robes he had pulled on minutes ago upon waking up. He prayed that she would not notice the wrinkles.

“Sorry I’m late–”

His sentence was cut off by a ball of blue fire aimed deliberately a few inches in front of his toes. Aang swiveled backwards before another blast, this time aimed at his neck, came sailing towards him. He disbursed the blast and turned to look at Azula who was holding an offensive firebending stance.

“If I had known your comment about tardiness was a threat, well I’d have woken up sooner.”

“Oh please, Avatar, the best way to wake up in the morning is to get the blood flowing.”

She motioned for him to attack her and upon seeing his hesitation, “I’m serious, you can’t expect to shoot lightning if your limbs are all locked up.”

Azula stated this all so matter-of-factly and it made Aang realize she was actually trying to teach him something and not just scare him for being late.

And amidst dodging and redirecting her attacks, he realized that he had never actually sparred with her. She was unrelenting and precise, it took all of his energy to just barely avoid her flames. Only when the sun came up and he was able to use its blinding effects to his advantage, was he finally able to push back and get some fire blasts in of his own.

She countered one last torrent of fire from him and returned to a neutral stance, “Very well, I’ve seen enough.” She blew lightly across her nails and rubbed them on the front of her shirt, “You’re not ready.”

Aang could feel a blood vessel popping in his forehead, “What do you mean I’m not ready? Didn’t you see that?” his hands gestured vaguely in the air, “I blocked all your shots!”

“And that is why you’re not ready. Firebending itself is already an offensive form, lightning even more so. You simply cannot ‘block’ lightning,” she put her hands up in mocking air quotes.

The Avatar crossed his arms, “But I can redirect it,” he said in the most petty voice he could manage.

“There’s nothing to redirect if you can’t even create it in the first place.”

Aang sighed, did she really have to be this difficult? All he wanted was a nice morning of training with a very talented, albeit frightening, bender; but instead he had been dangerously close to being set on fire and was sweating more in his life than ever before. Was lightning bending even worth the trouble at this point?

As if able to read his thoughts, Azula toned down the hostility in her voice, “Why don’t we practice more offensive forms and if you’ve made substantial progress, I will allow you to try again in a few days' time.”

He perked up at her words, “Really? Um, I mean, thank you sifu,” and bowed to her. By the time he lifted his head, the royal Princess was nowhere to be found.

* * *

  
  


“You told Aang you’d teach him how to lightning bend?” Zuko’s voice echoed through the royal garden and Azula sighed to herself, was the Firelord not expected to be elegant and graceful anymore?

“Relax, Zuzu, we’ve only been practicing firebending forms for now.”

“He’s the Avatar, he can already firebend better than half the royal army.”

“If that’s the standard you measure our military by, you might want to reevaluate that,” Azula broke off chunks of bread and threw them a little too harshly at the turtle ducks for Zuko’s taste.

She stood up to her brother’s disapproving looks, “Don’t worry, I’m not going to let him hurt himself. What’s that saying?” she put her hand on her chin, “‘Don’t bite the hand that feeds you’?”

Zuko opened his mouth, “But he doesn’t?”

“Of course not you idiot, he could singe off his eyebrows for all I care, but Ty Lee would not be happy to hear that I shot the Avatar full of lightning, again.” 

“Why does he even want to learn in the first place?”

Now facing the pond again, Azula watched the small turtle ducks swim in circles, “Maybe he realized he picked the wrong sibling to learn firebending from, hmm?”

She watched in the water’s reflection as Zuko’s eyebrow twitched. Firelord for at least half a decade now, yet still so easily riled up by his little sister, it was good to know that she still exercised some control over his life, even if it was in the form of small harmless jests here and there.

Realizing that his sister had no ill intention, Zuko gave up, “Just don’t set the courtyard on fire.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

* * *

  
  


Deft fingers swirled through the air collecting and controlling energy with it. Azure arcs sparked to life around her hands. Pure energy built up like a dam inside of her body only held back by sheer will power and years of experience. The energy surged forward and out through her fingertips as she directed the lightning blast at a ceramic pot. The target burst on impact and Aang looked on in awe from the smoke trailing up from her fingers to the obliterated pot halfway across the courtyard. The Princess’s renowned precision and accuracy were what set him out on having her as his teacher in the first place, but to see it in action, without being her target, was breathtaking.

Aang mirrored her movements in an attempt to get the sweeping motion down. When Azula seemed content with his form, he closed his eyes and visualized the energy swirling around him. He moved his hands in the exact same way his teacher had demonstrated and only opened his eyes when he heard a sharp crackling noise emanating from his fingers.

In a moment of panic from the realization of just how much raw energy he was controlling, Aang let the lightning guide him and blasted the nearby roof causing several red shingles to shatter on impact.

“Are you trying to disturb the whole palace?”

Aang laughed nervously, “I’ll, uh, try harder.”

Azula regarded the Avatar’s form, it was flawless, much like her own; so what was causing him such hang ups? Her eyes flickered to the bead of sweat at his brow and considering it was a cool morning in the Fire Nation capital, it was clearly not the heat. She noticed how his eyes darted from her, the scorched spot on the roof, and his own hands. 

“Zuko taught you to fear fire, didn’t he? That’s why you’re holding back,” she flipped a piece of her hair nonchalantly.

And Aang had to admit that she was damn good at reading people. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t fully afraid of firebending anymore. From his first time firebending with Jeong Jeong to seeing the havoc that Ozai was able to wreak during the comet, it was enough to make him weary of firebending at his fullest potential.

Though he and Zuko had discovered the true source of firebending, it still didn’t detract from the power the element held. In fact, pulling fire from one’s heart instead of hatred made the flames even hotter and the potential for danger all the greater.

On the other hand, he could see why Azula thought he was being pathetic right now; she had seen him not hesitate to throw Appa-sized rocks at people or torrents of air so fast that they could break one’s neck. But still, something just unsettled him about fire.

“You’ve taken my words seriously and improved your firebending forms tenfold, the only thing standing in your way is personal feelings. To lightning bend is to be void of any emotion, including fear,” her tone lightened, “Why else do you think it took Zuko years to even produce a shred of lightning?”

Aang let out a small laugh, but from the look on Azula’s face, she hadn’t meant it as a joke. Steeling his nerves, he tried again under Azula’s watchful eye.

Once again the electric arcs danced in the air and Aang felt hyper aware of the energy flowing through his limbs. The familiar panic crept in but he remembered Azula’s words, to be void of emotion, and took aim at the ceramic targets. When it felt like he could control the lightning no more, he sent forth a jagged bolt that hit true to its mark. The pottery broke into a thousand pieces and Aang stared at the smoke rising from his fingers.

A jubilous smile made its way to his face as he jumped into the air floating gracefully downwards in ways only an airbender could, “Azula! Azula! Did you see that?” pointing from the broken pot to his own hands, “I did it!”

“It seems you have, Aang,” the faintest smile crept onto her lips.

In a matter of minutes, Aang had experienced terror, unbridled joy, and now straight up confusion. She never called him by his name. It was always ‘Avatar,’ ‘arrow boy,’ or even ‘little brother’ in a somehow derogatory way, but never his real name. 

He found no insincerity in her voice and was that, perhaps a hint of pride? Either way, he was overflowing with joy and thought about hugging her but decided that that was not quite the right decision. Instead, he bowed to her and she to him.

Avatar Aang, master of all four elements – and now lightning – had grown to understand the Princess in ways he never thought he would. Not even two years ago would he have thought Azula would have given him the time of day, much less teach him an extremely powerful bending technique. 

“I must be off, then, I promised Ty Lee a breakfast date and I do not like to keep her waiting.”

Aang waved at her and thought about meeting up with his own girlfriend afterwards when her voice called out to him from across the courtyard, “Do clean up the mess you made of the shingles?”

“Yes, sifu...” Aang droned. 

An Avatar’s work was never done.

**Author's Note:**

> Let's pretend for fun that Zuko learned how to lightning bend sometime after becoming Firelord for the sake of sibling rivalry :))
> 
> thank you guys for reading my little avatar fics! find me on tumblr @ potsticker1234 for whatever shenanigans I'm currently up to


End file.
